I'm a late night person. I stay up late reading, working, wasting time on the computer. Then I have trouble falling asleep, not always, but often, and especially when I stay up late. There's also the problem of waking up in the night and being unable to fall back asleep. This problem waxes and wanes; alas, at the moment it seems to be waxing. I've probably blogged about all this before, but the point of this litany today is to explain why I loathe the idea of getting up early.
Last night I was exhausted. I got into bed soon after 9, turned off the light soon after 10, and fell asleep relatively quickly, I think. So far so good. Then I awoke at 3:30: wide awake, worrying about things, trying to relax and fall back asleep, using all my positions and techniques and...nothing. Finally, just before 5, I got up, figuring that even if I did fall asleep, having to wake up at 7 on an hour or two of sleep would be more painful than just powering through.
I caught up on my email (people must have been shocked by that 5:29 AM timestamp), paid the bills, put together a package, emptied the dishwasher, made lunches, took a shower, and was a cheerful adept mother by the time I woke up the girls at 7:10.
Maybe they're right, those people who get up at 5 every day to have time to themselves, or to work, or to work out. I could get into bed at 9 every night, read for an hour, get seven hours of sleep, and then get something done before the hubbub of the day begins.
I'm sure I've written a post like this before, because one of my schticks is about how beautiful the sunrise is--and how its beauty is enhanced by the fact that I see it so rarely. But now I'm wondering if I might convince myself to try the early morning thing. Because I could definitely use a difference around here.
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4 comments:
It's taken me a long time to let go of my late night owlish behaviors. I sleep better. I sleep through until 5 am without incident unless I drink too much water before bed or am sick (like I have been for a month so recent nights do not apply). I'm up before the kids, do a little computering/writing, make lunches, dishwasher, shower. All before anyone has asked me to do a single thing for them. It's wonderful.
But if I stay up past 9? I'm toast.
I had a great year of getting up early and doing yoga and writing before anyone else was up--maybe three years ago now? I loved it. But now I have to get Mariah to her bus by 7, which means we're both up at 6 and just rushing. I suppose I could try for 5:30 and that extra half hour, but so far it hasn't happened. Still, I think with nostalgia on that year. It was good.
You're kinda inspiring me here.
I know a lot of writers and intersetingly enough, many of the female authors get up quite early -- at 5:00 am or a little later -- because that is the ONLY time of day they are certain not to be interrupted by either their children or their husband/significant other wandering in and asking where the remote is. A woman's time is never considered her own.
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